1 May, 2006

Politics
Uzbekistan joins to Parliamentary Assembly of EurAsEC
Shanghai body ministers approve cultural cooperation plan in Uzbek capital
Kazakh, Uzbek customs agencies discuss cooperation
Kazakh, Uzbek security services sign anti-drug action plan

Economics
India, Uzbekistan to improve co-operation in pharma and healthcare
Uzbek-German Joint Venture to produce hearing aids for diabled
Russia's Agromashholding to supply more equipment to Uzbekistan
Iranian province to hold specialized exhibition in Tashkent

Society
French director Yves Caumon in Tashkent
Exhibition to present German cultural programme

Politics

UZBEKISTAN JOINS TO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF EURASEC

Parliamentary Assembly of Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) held its meeting in Saint Petersburg on 28 April.

The participants discussed organisational issues and considered improvement of activities of Parliamentary Assembly of EurAsEC.

Within the meeting, the agreement on cooperation between Parliamentary Assembly of EurAsEC and Parliamentary Assembly of Organisation of Black Sea Economic Cooperation was signed.

According to Intefax, the Uzbek delegation led by speaker of lower house of parliament Erkin Khalilov participated in the work of the assembly.

The report said Uzbekistan joined Parliamentary Assembly of EurAsEC and the session introduced corresponding changes to Regulation on Inter-parliamentarian Assembly of EurAsEC.

Eurasian Economic Community unites Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan joined the group on 25 January 2006.

SHANGHAI BODY MINISTERS APPROVE CULTURAL COOPERATION PLAN IN UZBEK CAPITAL

A meeting of the culture ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states was held in Tashkent city on 27-28 April.

Issues of development of multilateral cultural cooperation within the framework of this organization were discussed during the two days in the capital of Uzbekistan.

At the meeting, Vladimir Zakharov, deputy executive secretary of the SCO, spoke about the implementation of the plan for multilateral cultural cooperation in 2005-2006. Also issues relating to improving informational backup for cultural and humanitarian cooperation as well as its coverage on the website of the organization's secretariat were discussed. At the end of the meeting, the ministers approved a plan for multilateral cultural cooperation for 2007/08, a work plan of the expert working group on issues of cultural interaction within the framework of the SCO for 2006-2007, a statute on the second art festival, and signed a joint informational statement on the meeting of the culture ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states.

The sides exchanged opinions on the forthcoming SCO summit, which will take place in Shanghai (China) in June this year. Within its framework, celebrations on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the organization and also the second art festival of the member states of the SCO will be held.

Participants in the meting expressed their satisfaction with expanding cultural ties among the member states and also expressed their opinion on Uzbekistan's rich historical and cultural heritage.

The next session of the Council of Culture Ministers of the SCO member states will be held in the first half of 2007 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Alisher Azizkhodjaev, Uzbek Minister for Culture and Sport, said at the press conference after the meeting that the meeting was fruitful. He said the SCO member states signed documents, which will be firm ground for further strengthening of cultural relations and friendship between people of the organization.

Dmitriy Amunts, Deputy Minister for Culture and Mass Communication of Russia, said the meeting was held in friendly and constructive mode. He said the culture allows to solve many problems and the SCO member states are discussing now on common cultural area.

Ermuhamet Ertysbaev, Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, said the meeting discussed upcoming summit of the heads of states of the SCO in Shanghai, which will be held in mid-June.

Radjabmad Amirov, Culture Minister of Tajikistan, expressed gratitude to Uzbekistan for creation if all conditions for fruitful work. He said that this experience will be used in the next session.

Meng Xiaosi, Deputy Culture Minister of China, said the Culture Ministry of China highly evaluates the meeting. She said wide-range of issues were discussed in short-period and the sides came to consensus.

Vladimir Zakharov, deputy executive secretary of the SCO, said the SCO Secretary will make its best to enforce all adopted decisions.

In accordance with annual plan on the result of this meeting, the Second Art Festival will be held in Shanghai, album on traditions and customs of the SCO member-states will be prepared, as well as photo exhibitions "Pearls of the Silk Road" will be organised in the cities of the region. The Sixth International Festival Sharq Taronalari in Samarkand city was also included to the plan.

The first fruit of cultural cooperation of the SCO member countries became the exhibition of painting and products of arts and crafts of "Vesennaya Raduga" (Spring Rainbow), which was opened at Uzbek Art Academy on 28 April.

KAZAKH, UZBEK CUSTOMS AGENCIES DISCUSS COOPERATION

The customs agencies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed the activities of the checkpoints on the common border at a working meeting in Tashkent.

The sides agreed the list of checkpoints, their status and working hours at the meeting on Friday, 28 April, which was attended by border guard officials of the two countries. The sides also agreed to exchange information on transported goods.

The sides agreed to cooperate in taking joint measures to prevent smuggling, violation of customs regulations and the illegal circulation of drugs

The length of the Kazakh-Uzbek border is about 2,100 km, while it is less than 1,000 km in densely populated areas. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are now demarcating the border.

KAZAKH, UZBEK SECURITY SERVICES SIGN ANTI-DRUG ACTION PLAN

Senior officials of the Kazakh National Security Committee (NSC) and the Uzbek National Security Service (NSS) have approved a joint action plan to fight drug trafficking, head of the NSC's economic security directorate, Nurgali Bilisbekov, said at a news conference.

He said that experts of the Kazakh NSC and Uzbek NSS met in Shymkent (south Kazakh Region) on 27 April to work out joint measures to fight international drug trafficking. The two delegations were headed by the first deputy chairman of the Uzbek NSS, Shuhrat Gulomov, and a deputy chairman of the Kazakh NSC, Kozy-Korpesh Karbuzov. The meeting resulted in signing the joint action plan that envisages concrete measures aimed at coordination and the prevention of the drug trafficking groups' activities, as well as at taking active measures to uncover drug trafficking channels and the exchange of operational and analytical information.

Nurgali Bilisbekov said that the meeting was a continuation of the implementation of agreements reached between the security services of four countries in March 2004 (the quadripartite agreement between the special services of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan).

"Cooperation with Uzbekistan is of special importance to us," Bilisbekov said. "A shift from main drug trafficking through the Tajik-Kyrgyz-Russian direction to transporting large batches of drugs through Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan is now being observed. We have to cooperate closely in order to tackle this."

ECONOMICS

INDIA, UZBEKISTAN TO IMPROVE CO-OPERATION IN PHARMA AND HEALTHCARE

India and Uzbekistan have noted that vast opportunities are available for the development of cooperation between the two countries in the spheres of pharmaceuticals, entrepreneurship and many other sectors.

At the invitation of the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, paid an official visit to Uzbekistan on 25-26 April. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has been signed for establishing the Uzbekistan India Entrepreneurship Development Centre at Tashkent. India offered to provide financial support to establish the Uzbekistan India Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Tashkent and Uzbekistan agreed to provide necessary support to facilitate the establishment of the Centre, sources said.

The Indian side also offered to set up a tele-medicine network between India and Uzbekistan. Both the sides expressed satisfaction with the results of the sixth meeting of the India-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation held at New Delhi on March 7, 2006 and underlined the importance of early implementation of the provisions of the signed Protocol.

Pharmexcil in the past has led delegations to Uzbekistan realizing the potential for Indian pharmaceutical exports to the region. It has been found that opportunities also exist for export of surgicals and devices to Uzbekistan. A joint venture for setting up a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit involving State Trading Corporation of India with a local firm at Almaty was also signed, earlier.

Bulk drugs imports are increasing from Uzbekistan markets. As per estimates, Indian pharmaceutical exports to Uzbekistan are over 20o million Indian rupees (20 crore rupees) and are set to grow in the coming years.

UZBEK-GERMAN JOINT VENTURE TO PRODUCE HEARING AIDS FOR DISABLED

A new Uzbek-German joint venture "UD-Audition" has started its work in Fargona. It is the only joint venture in Central Asia which produces hearing aids for the disabled. The new joint venture's output produced by using modern technologies and thanks to its inspection certification ISO-9001, is in great demand.

At present the enterprise received an order for producing 1,200 pieces of such hearing aids. Another 1,000 pieces of hearing aids will be exported to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

RUSSIA'S AGROMASHHOLDING TO SUPPLY MORE EQUIPMENT TO UZBEKISTAN

Agromashholding open joint stock company is expanding cooperation with Uzbekistan though increase of equipment supplies, creation of modern service system and realization of new projects on production of agriculture equipment.

The corresponding agreements were reached during the visit of president of Agromashholding Natalya Partasova to Tashkent.

Natalya Partasova held meetings in Tashkent with members of Cabinet of Ministers, leadership of Tashkent Tractor Plant, Almalyk Mining and Smelting Combine and Navoi Mining and Smelting Combine.

On the results of the talks, the sides achieved several agreements on supply of equipment of Agromashholding to Uzbekistan and realization of several joint projects in Uzbekistan.

Partasova said Agromashholding is cooperating with Uzbekistan for a long time and fruitfully, first of all in supply of agriculture equipment to Uzbek farmers. She said over 1,300 units of tractors were delivered to Uzbekistan in 2004/05 and the cooperation will continue in 2006.

Agromashholding and Uzprommashimpeks state joint stock company signed agreement on supply of 300 tractors of VT-150D mark, product of Volgograd Tractor Plant, to Uzbekistan in the first half of 2006.

During the talks at the Cabinet of Ministers, issues on realisation of article 8 of the agreement on allied relations between Russia and Uzbekistan, signed on 14 November 2005, was discussed. The agreement envisages measures on improvement of bilateral trade-economic relations. The Russian company, representatives of Cabinet of Ministers and leadership of Uzbek enterprises are preparing system agreement to enforce agreement.

Within the agreement, it is planned to organize modern service system on the basis of Uzagromashservis. The Russian company is also ready to organize training programmes for farmers on use of Agromashholding's equipment.

Agromashholding and Tashkent Tractor Plant are working on project on organization of assembly of caterpillar tractor, wheat harvesters and other equipment in capacities of Tashkent plant. The project on creation of capacities on repair of AMZ and VMTZ engines was also considered.

Partasova informed on achieved agreements with Uzbek Agriculture and Water Management Ministry and several other Uzbek enterprises. She said that the company and Uzbek ministry achieved agreement on supply of other equipment of Russian company. She added that important agreements were also achieved with Almalyk Mining and Smelting Combine and Navoi Mining and Smelting Combine, which buy spare parts from Agromashholding. She said the supplies of equipment for irrigation works were also discussed during the talks.

IRANIAN PROVINCE TO HOLD SPECIALIZED EXHIBITION IN TASHKENT

Markazi Province of Iran will hold a specialized exhibition in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent on 23-25 May, deputy governor-general for planning affairs Mehdi Moqaddasi said on Sunday.

The exhibition is to be held under the permission of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI), he added.

Moqaddas noted that 65 Iranian companies have so far voiced their readiness to take part in the event.

He described Uzbekistan's market for the Iranian goods as a suitable venue, Mehrnews of Iran reported.

SOCIETY

FRENCH DIRECTOR YVES CAUMON IN TASHKENT

French director Yves Caumon arrived in Tashkent to participate at the Festival of Young Cinematographer of Central Asia Ijodiy Parvoz (Creative Fly) as jury member.

The festival will be held in Tashkent on 2-7 May. It is expected that Caumon will give master class to students of Art Institute on 2 May at Cinema House. Within the master class, two of Caumon's works will be presented.

Yves Caumon, born 27 May 1964, is a French director. He is Professor in Toulouse's University in France. He worked as assistant-director with Agn?s Varda, and Jean-Paul Civeyrac.

He directed several short movies as A la Hache with Val?rie Crunchant, Les filles de mon pays (Prix Jean Vigo 2000).

Yves Caumon is one of the excellent young French fllm directors in the new "New Wave" in French cinema such as Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Philippe Ramos, Francois Ozon. His first movie "Amour d'enfance" was awarded with Prix Un certain regard in Cannes Film Festival 2001. His movie Cache-cache (Hide and seek) is in the French contingent in Cannes Film Festival 2005.

EXHIBITION TO PRESENT GERMAN CULTURAL PROGRAMME

House of Photography will host an exhibition entitled "Programme of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Germany on preservation of culture" on 6-20 May.

Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany has been assisting to preserve cultural heritage worldwide since 1981. Since that time, the programme assisted to ralise over 1,200 projects in 130 countries and directed 32.7 million euros to their implementation. The programme helps to restore historic and religious establishments, historic objects and manuscript, equip museums and archives to preserve cultural heritage and others. The aim of programme is to establish originality of developing states and promote cultural dialogue with Germany. The programme is effective tool of foreign policy of Germany in culture and education.

The programme realized project on restoration of Shadi-Mulk-Aga mausoleum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, within 1997-2005. The exhibition will be sum up this project.

The exhibition will present photos and objects of the projects, implemented within project worldwide.